1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wrapping packaging device in which substantially rectangular-shaped contents, such as piled-up papers, books, longitudinally zig-zag, folded, or overlapped belt-like clothes or fabrics, or accumulated boxes, are covered by a packaging sheet, such as a craft paper. More particularly, the invention relates to a device in which a packaging sheet is supplied by an elevator, the packaging sheet is applied along an outer surface of the contents, the sheet is sealed with an adhesive tape while the packaging sheet and the contents are placed on a mounting surface of the elevator and are transported in a vertical direction from a packaging starting position by the raising or lowering of the elevator.
2. Description of the Background Information
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-14685 discloses a device including a paper feeding table. A packaging sheet is piled up at the side of the passage used for raising or lowering the elevator, and is directed toward the upper end of the raising or lowering passage and inclined upwardly. Only one packaging sheet, positioned at the downstream end in the accumulating direction, is separated and fed one-by-one from the entire piled-up packaging sheets. The packaging sheet is held in linear line form in relation to the paper feeding table and supplied onto the elevator. The contents are placed at a predetermined position on this packaging sheet, and the elevator is lowered to fold both ends of the packaging sheet into a substantial U-shape. Then both ends overlap along the upper surface of the contents to complete the winding stage. Subsequently, the contents are horizontally transported from the elevator toward the discharging table. Both side flaps of each of the feeding end portions of the packaging sheet are folded inwardly along the side surfaces of the contents. Thereafter, the upper flap of each of the feeding ends is folded down along both side surfaces of the contents, and concurrently, adhering tape, fed out by a tape feeding mechanism, adheres to both overlapped ends of the packaging sheet and is sealed. Thereafter, the lower flap folds along the outside of the folded upper flap, and the extreme ends of the outermost overlapped lower flap, under an inward projecting movement of the guide, are folded along the upper surface of the contents. The adhering tape, fed out by the tape feeding mechanism, adheres to the upper surface of the contents, together with the extreme end of the lower flap, by an adhering mechanism, and is sealed.
In addition, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-11124, discloses a device in which a paper feeding table, where packaging sheets are accumulated at the side of the raising or lowering passage of the elevator, is mounted, inclined by about 45.degree., toward the upper end of the raising or lowering passage. The feeding-out rollers, acting as the sheet feeding mechanism, are arranged above the packaging sheets accumulated on the paper feeding table, while being held in a linear line state. Only the packaging sheet positioned at the upper end is separated one-by-one under the rotation of the feeding-out rollers, and fed out in a substantial horizontal direction onto the elevator. The elevator is lowered after the contents are placed on the predetermined position on the packaging sheet. Thereby, the packaging sheet is bent along both side surfaces of the contents into a substantial U-shape. Thereafter, both ends of these folded packaging sheets overlap along the upper surface of the contents by a winding mechanism, to complete the winding operation. At the same time, the feeding-out rollers are held by chains, and the like, and normally abut against the packaging sheet at the downstream end in the accumulating direction by the weight of the feeding-out rollers. Thereby, even after the packaging sheet on the sheet feeding table is decreased as the feeding-out operation is carried out, the packaging sheet is continuously fed out without being related to this operation.
However, in the prior art packaging device as described above, since the adhering tape is fed out and adhered to the sealing part corresponding to the position of the packaging sheet upon completion of the winding and folding operations, this prior art device has some problems. Specifically, an exclusive stage for adhering the adhering tape is necessary during the packaging stage of the contents. Concurrently, the tape feeding mechanism and the tape adhering mechanism are arranged at each of the positions corresponding to both of the wrapped ends of the wound packaging sheet, and the position corresponding to the lower flap extreme end of both folded feeding-out ends. The guides to be used for winding or folding operations are disposed at the winding and folding completing positions. They are arranged so as not to interfere with the members. The resulting size of the entire device is not only large, but also has a complicated configuration.
In addition, this device has another problem in that it becomes necessary to arrange separating means, using adhering or frictional power, to make a positive separation of only one packaging sheet, positioned at the downstream end in the accumulating direction, from the entire accumulated packaging sheets.
In addition, the paper feeding table where the packaging sheets are accumulated at an angle, while being held in a linear line state, and the raising or lowering passage of the elevator, are arranged side-by-side in a lateral direction. These arrangements require that the inclined, arranging space for the packaging sheet must be in a lateral direction, separate from the raising or lowering passage of the elevator. Correspondingly, the device is elongated in a lateral direction and large.
In view of the foregoing, it may be possible to include a space for arranging the packaging sheet, that has a small lateral direction, by inclining the paper feeding table at nearly its right angle. However, by doing so, the space for arranging the packaging sheet is not only slightly elongated in a vertical direction, from the raising or lowering passage of the elevator, but the size of the packaging sheet, in its winding direction, is two times longer than the width and height of the contents to be packaged. Accordingly, the space for arranging the packaging sheet is required to be longer, in a linear line direction, than the outer shape of the contents. This results in a problem in that the device is large.
Further, the paper feeding table, where the accumulated packaging sheets are mounted, is moved up and down. Therefore, the packaging sheet positioned at the downstream end is kept at the desired height without any relation to the accumulated amount. Accordingly, the feeding-out length, bending from the extreme end of the packaging sheet to the packaging starting position on the elevator, is nearly constant. In this case, it is necessary to support the paper feeding table, where the packaging sheets are accumulated, in such a manner that it may be raised or lowered, and to cooperatively arrange the raising or lowering driving part. This further illustrates the problems with this device. It must be large, and at the same time, its structure is complicated, thereby increasing the cost and difficulty of applying the packaging sheet.
An object of the present invention is to perform a concurrent sealing of the packaging sheet while the sheet is being covered. Another object of the present invention is to separate only one packaging sheet at the downstream end without utilizing any sucking power or frictional force. Still another object of the present invention is to keep the maximum sheet arranging space within the dead space, while only one packaging sheet at the downstream end is separated without utilizing sucking power or frictional force. A further object of the present invention is to keep the packaging sheet, at the downstream end, at the specified position without relating its position to the accumulated amount, or moving the packaging sheet up and down.